Homer lee



(No Model.)

H. LEE.

INKING APPARATUS FOR PRINTING MACHINES. No. 353,792. Patented Dec. 7,1886.

f/pm/ my. M

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOMER LEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

INKING APPARATUS FOR PRlNTlNG-MACHlNES.l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,792, dated December7, 1886.

Application filed November 2, 1881. Serial No. 45,006. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HOMER LEE, a citizen of the United States, residingin the city of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Inking Apparatus forPrinting-)Iachines, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

My invention relates to inking mechanism for printing-machines, and isparticularly designed to be used in connection with those presses whichprint from intaglio surfaces. In this class of printing, which is knowngenerally as plate-printing, the design to be reproduced, instead ofbeing in relief upon the printing-surfiice, is cut in intaglio, and thesurface printed upon takes the ink from the sunken lines of theengraving. In order to produce good work from a printing-surface of thischaracter, it is necessary that all the lines of the. engraving shouldbe uniformly and completely filled with ink, or, as it is termed in theart, thoroughly inked in. This inking-in is attended with considerabledifliculty and laborin hand-presses, and in those presses in which theinking is accomplished automatically and at a considerable degree ofspeed it has often been so imperfec'tly'done as to make the work of aninferior quality.

It is the object of my invention to remedy this defect; and to this endmy invention con- Sists in an inking mechanism one or more of therollers of which is or are retarded, so as to produce a dragging orrubbing action upon the plate.

It further consists in certain details of construction and combinationsof parts, all of which will be hereinafter fully explained, and pointedout in the claims.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is alongitudinal vertical sectional view ofso much of the plateprinting machine shown and described in UnitedStates Patent N 0. 237,558 as is required to illustrate the applicationof my present in- Vention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the inkingrollers,showing one means which I have de vised for retarding or stopping one ofsaid rollers. Figs. 3 and 4 are side elevations of the inkingmechanism,showing another means for accomplishing the same result.

The construction and operation of the press shown are fully set forth insaid patent, and need not be described here.

A is the engraved printing-surface, which, by the reciprocations of thebed of the press, is carried under the inking-rollers. rollers give inkto the plate as it passes under them in each direction. In the patentre- These ferred to these rollers revolve by frictional contact with theplate, and so of course have a surface speedjust equal to that of theplate.

By my present invention I retard one or more of the lower set of theserollers during the time the plate is passing beneath them either in oneor both directions, and thus cause the roller or rollers to act upon theplate with adragging or rubbing-in action. The ink will thus be piled upto some extent between the roller and plate, and the tendency will be tosmear or force it into all of the lines of the engraving. This will beso thoroughly done that it will not be wiped out by the rubbing actionof the wiper-pads O. The roller or rollers which are not retarded willact as distributingrollers to redistribute the ink over the surface ofthe plate.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a means by which one of the inking-rollers can beretarded by an attendant in charge.

The lower set of rollers 12 are provided with wheels 0 upon theirshafts, which run upon bearers or ways upon the side of the bed. Theattendant is furnished with a block or wedge, a, having a handle, e,when the dis tributing-table D has passed under the inkingrollers andgiven them a supply of ink, and at the moment the plate is about toenter under said rollers the attendant places the wedge or block betweenthe side of the frame which carries the iuking-rollers and one of thewheels, 0, thus retarding such rollers. The wedge must be removed assoon as the plate passes from under the inking-rollers, so that saidrollers will not drag across the ink-distributing table. One or more ofthe rollers b can be retarded in this manner.

Although the best results will be obtained by retarding one or more ofthe inking'rolls, yet the inking-in may be effectually accomplishedunder some circumstances by wholly stopping such roll or rolls while incontact with the plate. This may be done by prop erly adjusting thewedge or block shown in Fig. 2, or as in Figs. 3 and 4, in which I haveillustrated a means for automatically accomplishing the retarding orstopping of an inking-roller.

The inking-rollers are, as shown, jonrnaled in open bearings, so thatthey have vertical play against the tension of springs g. The

end of the shaft of one of the rollers b has rigidly attached to it aratchet-wheel, d, which engages at certain times a weighted or springpawl, f. When the distributing-table D is passing under theinking-rollers, said rollers is attached,and give it the rubbing inaction upon the plate. More than one of, the rollers 11 may be providedwith a ratchet-wheel and pawl if it is desired to give the rubbing-inaction to more than one.

A friction device of any well-known constrnction may be used to connectthe ratchet d to the shaft of the roller b, so that instead of beingstopped it will only be retarded,

The construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will only stop the roller bduring the movement of the platcin one direction. Another ratchetwheelwith teeth out in the opposite direction may, however, be provided uponthe other end of the shaft of roller b, so as to act when the one shownis idle, and thus stop or retard it while the plate moves in eachdirection; or one or more of the rollers may be stopped or retardedwhile the plate moves in one direction, and one or more of the othersstopped or retarded while it moves in the opposite direc: tion. f

Instead of effecting the stopping or retarding of the roller b by meansof a ratchet-wheel and pawl, as shown, I may use a plain disk, whichwhen the roller is elevated will be engaged by a friction-dog.

I have shown my improved inking apparatus as applied to apress printingfrom a flat surface; butit may be applied to presses using other formsof printing-surfaces without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is- 1. In an inking mechanism for printingpresses, aninking-roller which drags whilein contactwith theprinting-surface,substantially as described.

2. An inking mechanism for printing-presses in which a portion of theform-rollers drags while in contact with the printing-surface,substantially as described.

3. In an inking mechanism for printingpresses, an inking-roller whichdrags across the plate in one direction and runs free in the otherdirection, substantially as described.

4. In an inking mechanism for printingpresses, an inking-roller whichdrags when in contact with the plate and runs free when in contact withtheinking-table, substantially as described. A Y

5. An inking mechanism for printing-presses in which aportion oftheform-rolls drags when in contact with the plate and runs free when incontact with the inking-table,;substantially as described. V

6. The combination of a plate-carrier and plate with inking-rolls andmeans for retarding one of said rolls'while in contact with the plate,all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HOMER LEE.

Witnesses:

THOMSON H. PALMER, J. A. Hov Y.

